Plymouth County commissioner candidate wants to restore county authority

Thursday

Oct 25, 2012 at 12:01 AMOct 25, 2012 at 11:24 AM

HANOVER — If the state's gradual removal of county authority were happening in the colonial era, county commissioner candidate Daniel A. Pallotta said he would be throwing tea in the harbor.

MATT CAMARA

HANOVER — If the state's gradual removal of county authority were happening in the colonial era, county commissioner candidate Daniel A. Pallotta said he would be throwing tea in the harbor.

"There was a time when dogs were registered through the county," said Pallotta, a Republican from Hanover. "Slowly, the state has come in and taken over the functions of the county. ... It's time to do the reverse."

Pallotta is vying with Democrat Greg Hanley and independent Maryanne Lewis for one of the two open seats on the Plymouth County Board of Commissioners on a platform that revolves around increasing the county's power relative to the state.

However, asked what his plan to strengthen county government looks like, Pallotta said he has none.

The two candidates with the highest vote totals will fill open seats, meaning voters can vote for their top two choices come November.

Remaining county responsibilities such as courts and registry of deeds continue to be under threat of state takeover. Voter apathy toward county governments and a number of county commissioners who believe the county provides redundant services also contribute to the decline of county importance, Pallotta said.

"I call it the bastard child of government," he said. "But we can do these things cheaper than the state."

The state also tends to leave behind serious health and pension liabilities for the county to pay for when it consumes a county asset, such as in 2010, when the Plymouth County House of Correction became a state facility, he said.

Pallotta's platform could be a tough sell for a number of reasons, said Shannon Jenkins, a UMass Dartmouth political science professor.

"I'm not sure voters are clamoring for more county government," she said. "Counties have never played the same role in Massachusetts as they have in other states."

Massachusetts, unlike states such as Nevada or Colorado, has no unincorporated areas in which county governments provide regional services.

There is also no real mechanism for the county to make itself more powerful, Jenkins said.

Pallotta, despite lacking a specific plan, said state and county officials need to have a frank discussion of where each other's responsibilities lay.

Pallotta said he decided to run for the four-year term, which pays $7,500 a year, because he has watched the county decline in relevance since he got involved with local government in 1994. He has served on the Hanover Planning Board, Zoning Board and Board of Selectmen and the Plymouth County Charter Board of Expenditures, among others.

He is the owner of P-3, Inc., a construction management firm with eight employees.